The country's national debt exceeded one-thousand-100 trillion won, or 806-point-14 billion U.S. dollars, for the first time, reaching a record high in 2023.

According to the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the sovereign debt, which consists of bond sales and financial borrowing by central and provincial governments, reached one thousand-126-point-seven trillion won in 2023, up five-point-four trillion won from a year earlier.

The national debt has risen at a rapid pace over the years, from around 723-point-two trillion won in 2019, to 846-point-six trillion won in 2020, and 970-point-seven trillion won in 2021 before hitting one-thousand-67-point-four trillion won in 2022. 

The nation's debt-to-GDP ratio also hit an all-time high of 50-point-four percent last year, up from 49-point-four percent in 2022, marking the first time the ratio has surpassed 50 percent since the government began compiling relevant data in 1982.

Meanwhile, the country's total revenue in 2023 also fell 13-point-four percent year-on-year to 497 trillion won mainly due to a 51-point-nine trillion won decline in tax revenue amid a drop in real estate transactions and poor corporate performance. Expenditure also fell 12-point-four percent to reach 490-point-four trillion won.